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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

If you have not yet read GH's review of Frita Batidos, please do so before proceeding. He has a far more sophisticated palate, and a better eye for aesthetics, than I do.

Last night Erika and I braved arctic temperatures to visit Frita Batidos. Partially, we wanted to see what all the hype was about, but we are also nearly out of food.There is substantial debate surrounding the translation of "Frita Batidos." I hope to put that to rest. "Frita," in the Cuban vernacular, means Cuban hamburger. "Batidos," in Latin American Spanish, are milkshakes. They only use milk and are lighter than our ice cream-based shakes, and often feature tropical fruit. So "Frita Batidos" roughly translates to "Cuban Hamburger Light Milkshake." If you would like to order either a Cuban Hamburger or a Light Milkshake, or anything else at Frita Batidos, you just queue up in front of this register and ask. But you can't order alcohol, yet: they are still wrangling for a liquor license.

After hastily scouring the menu, Erika ordered a Beef Frita, while I went with the pulled pork:

The Pulled Pork was delicious, though difficult to eat. he pork was cooked in a rich, creamy barbeque-like sauce and the sandwich was topped with a light tropical coleslaw. It was quite filling in spite of its small size.

The juxtaposition of the tropical decor inside Frita Batidos with the winter weather outside was a little strange. This guy's Hawaiian shirt only added to that:

Sugarcane in Michigan? Why, I never! But seriously, the food in Frita Batidos was good and the atmosphere was fun; the other customers really seemed to be enjoying themselves We even saw proprietor Eve Aronoff. Unfortunately, I didn't know what she looked like until just now, so I didn't go all paparazzo on her. I wonder, though: how long it will be before Ann Arborites begin to refer to the restaurant simply as "Frita's"? It took every bit of will I had not to write it constantly throughout this article.